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Background & objectives: Problems associated with dusts, especially those of smaller than 10 microns, are one of the most important problems related to air pollution. Dusts entering to the atmosphere are driven from arid and semiarid regions. The aim of this study is determination of seasonal air quality variations in terms of PM10 concentration for Kermanshah city over a four-year period (2008-2011). Methods: For this descriptive –analytical study a total number of 1334 samples were collected in different seasons from air pollution measurement stations of Kermanshah Environmental Protection Organization during four years of study. The Data were analyzed by SPSS. Results: Results showed that over the period of 4 years, the total frequency percent of PM10 with good, healthy, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and dangerous criteria were 10.4, 59.2, 26.4, 0.7, and 3.3%, respectively. The respective highest and lowest frequencies of PM10 emissions with good criteria (0-50) occurred in February (37.7%) and June and July (0 %) in winter (21.96%) and summer (4.81%). Conclusion: The results showed that July and summer had the worst air quality in terms of PM10 concentration, which was mainly due to the frequency and intensity of dust entrance in mentioned period of time. Hence, it is necessary to reduce emission of such pollutant sat national management level with cooperation of neighboring country.

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Background & objectives: Students are human capital of any society and paying attention to their health is considered an investment for the future. One of the effective ways to promote health of students is training school health educators in higher education system. The aim of this study was codification process of baccalaureate curriculum for school health and its validation from the perspective of curriculum and school health specialists.
Methods: This research was mixed method. In the qualitative phase, exploratory method and in the quantitative section, descriptive-survey method was used. The study population included all the ideas of professionals in the field of school health and curriculum who commented on curriculum. The quantitative phase included 300 curriculum and school health specialists working in Tehran. 168 of these specialists were selected for validating this curriculum model. The instrument used to validate the model was a researcher-made questionnaire which its validity was confirmed by experts' views and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's Alpha test (α=0.96). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to validate the model.
Results: The findings showed that proposed structure of baccalaureate curriculum for school health includes aims, content, personal and social health, disciplinary processes and evaluation of apprenticeship units. Also, the findings of validation showed baccalaureate curriculum for school health was valid from the perspective of curriculum and school health specialists.
Conclusion: Since the proposed curriculum for baccalaureate of school health is valid, it is suggested that curriculum planners and the faculty members in the field of health to try to adopt this proposed model and implement in the higher education system.

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Background & objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the spiritual health, life expectancy and death anxiety in two groups of patients with curable cancer and non-cancer patients, taking into account the role of gender.
Methods: The method of this study was causal-comparative method. The statistical population was cancer patients referring to private cancer treatment centers and non-cancer patients referring to Shiraz private health centers. The selection of 100 cancer patients (50 men/50 women) was performed using available sampling method. To select 100 non-cancer individuals (50 men/50 women), a random sampling method was used. The research instruments were included Palutzian and Ellison Spiritual Health Questionnaire, the Snyder Hope Scale Questionnaire and the Templer Death Anxiety Scale Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using factorial analysis of variance.
Results: According to the results of this study, there was no significant difference between males and females in terms of spiritual health variable.  But the life expectancy variable was reported more frequently in men than other groups. Also, there was a significant difference in the death anxiety index in cancer patients compared with non-cancer individuals, with the highest mean for men with cancer and the lowest mean for non-cancer men.
Conclusion: Accurate knowledge about and obtaining a proper understanding of the emotions and attitudes of patient towards  their illness and their mental and spiritual abilities in coping with illness and even death can be advantageous for the treatment team and the family of patients in order to help these patients.

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Background & objectives: Air pollution is considered as an ultrastructural element in urban transportation systems and as an important indicator of human health. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the PM₁₀ pollution range of two main highways of Ardakan city and determine the contribution of these highways in health risk of their surrounding residents due to exposure to these pollutants by modeling methods.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted on two highways of Meybod Ardakan and Ardakan Nain. IVE and AERMOD models were used for estimation of emission rate of PM₁₀ in four seasons of the year, and also dispersion and exposure rates to PM₁₀.The information required to run the models was collected by observational statistics, information from the police research center and the meteorological research center of Yazd province. By identifying six PM₁₀ exposure groups in the pollution range of these two highways, health risk assessment was performed using the proposed USEPA relationships.
Results: In four seasons of the year, the mean and maximum concentration of PM₁₀ of Meybod Ardakan highway were predicted more than Ardakan Nain highway. Although the minimum dispersion concentration of PM₁₀ of Ardakan Nain Highway was lower than that of Meybod Ardakan, the pollutant limit of this highway (1, 24 hours and annually) was more predicted. Among the six groups exposed to PM₁₀ in all time intervals, the highest exposure rate was belonged to Ardakan Nain road police station and the least to residents of Torkabad Village (1 hour) and Shahid Paydar Park (8, 24 hours and annually). Cancer and non-cancerous risk exposure to PM₁₀ was estimated in acceptable range in all age groups and categories.
Conclusion: With the modeling method used, the contribution of the two investigated highways in predicting the health risk of surrounding residents was within the acceptable range.

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Background & objectives: Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses and constitute a subfamily of Coronaviridae ranging from the common cold virus to viruses causing more acute diseases such as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Symptom), MERSE (Middle East Respiratory Symptom) and COVID-19 inflicting human respiratory system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the trend of changes in the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 disease during the epidemic period in patients admitted to hospitals in Ardabil province.
Methods: In this cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study, all patients with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 who were referred to hospitals in Ardabil province were studied. The information was extracted from the hospital data registration system of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences and was analyzed in two time periods between 20^th February to 10^th July 2020. Chi-square and Fisher tests in SPSS 16 software were used to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 symptoms and time periods.
Results: The total number of hospitalizations during the study was 5541, which after PCR test was positive for 2506 patients (45.22%). Patients were examined at two different time intervals. The first time period from the beginning of the disease in Ardabil province to 4/20/2020 and the second time period from 5/1/2020 to 10/7/2020 were studied. According to the results of this study, the prevalence of stomachache and bruising had almost doubled between the first and second time (p<0.05). However, the prevalence of general weakness, confusion or irritability, runny nose, chest pain and conjunctival redness were significantly reduced during this period (p<0.05).
Conclusion: This study showed that at the beginning of the epidemic, respiratory symptoms had reported in most patients. Over time, some other symptoms, such as gastrointestinal, olfactory, and taste symptoms, had increased, but respiratory symptoms in COVID-19 were still severe and directly affected hospitalization and mortality.
 

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Background & objectives: Due to the widespread outbreak of the coronavirus, it has become more crucial than ever to be aware of its physical symptoms. This responsibility mainly falls on medical and therapeutic communities. However, psychologists and psychiatrists are responsible for examining the psychological and psychosomatic aspects of the disease. This article investigates the relationship between health anxiety, conspiracy delusion, and the attitude toward the Covid-19 vaccine.
Methods: A descriptive web-based correlation approach was utilized for this research. Two hundred seventy participants were selected through social networks using available sampling techniques. Questionnaires about health anxiety, CMQ conspiracy illusion, and attitude towards the VAX vaccine were distributed through Google Forms and online platforms. Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple regression techniques were utilized to analyze the collected data in the SPSS-24 environment.
Results: The study revealed that health anxiety, conspiracy delusion, and attitude towards the vaccine are interconnected. There was a positive and significant correlation between health anxiety and the attitude toward the vaccine (p<0.05). Similarly, conspiracy delusion and the attitude toward the vaccine were positively and significantly related (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the findings, it can be concluded that health anxiety and conspiracy illusions can predict the attitude toward the vaccine.
 

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Background & objectives: Water resources are often exposed to pollutants related to urban waste disposal. This study aimed to determine the quality of water sources around the landfill of Langrod City in 2021.
Methods: Methodology: This cross-sectional study selected two springs upstream, two water sources (well and spring) downstream of the landfill site, and a river (with two sampling stations) near the landfill site as the studied water sources. Sampling and analysis of physical (temperature, turbidity and TSS), chemical (pH, EC, TDS, BOD5, COD, nitrate, sulfate and heavy metals) and microbial (coliform and E.coli) parameters of water quality and soil samples of the region with Standard methods were performed. The data were analyzed by comparison with Iranian standards, Schuler and Wilcox indices.
Results: In all water samples, the turbidity was more than the desired level, and the concentration of all chemical parameters was lower than MCL in the Iranian standard for drinking and irrigation. In the downstream well of the landfill, the total concentration of nitrite and nitrate measured compared to the recommended values in drinking water was almost four times the Iranian standard. The number of coliform and E. coli in all water sources was higher than the permissible limit of Iran's standard for drinking. The quality of all water samples, based on the Schuler diagram (drinking), was acceptable to good, and according to the Wilcox index, except for the downstream river of the landfill, they were in the medium salty category and were relatively suitable for agriculture.
Conclusion: The quality of water sources upstream and downstream of the Langrod urban waste landfill site was similar, and the water quality of the river downstream of the landfill was high salty and suitable for agriculture with the necessary considerations (drainage).
 

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Background & objectives: Public health is a fundamental branch of health sciences, aiming to cultivate professionals who are responsive to individual, family and societal health needs. An effective training program is vital for equipping healthcare professionals to deliver quality services at the community level. This study examines the extent to which the Bachelor of Public Health curriculum aligns with the job requirements of healthcare networks.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving managers and staff from healthcare centers, with a census sampling method employed. Data were gathered through a standard questionnaire, validated for reliability, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient exceeding 0.7 across all dimensions. The questionnaire included two sections: demographics and a list of courses aligned with the Bachelor of Public Health curriculum.
Results: Among the 100 participants, 73 held bachelor's degrees, while others included 22 with master's degrees, 4 with doctorates, and 2 with associate degrees, all currently employed. Overall job satisfaction was reported by 43% of respondents, and 52% felt that their job positions corresponded with their field of study. In the basic and core courses of the Bachelor of Public Health program, 12.2% of the participants believe that the level of adaptation is very high, while 20% believe that the adaptation of specific courses to job needs is very high in general.
Conclusion: The compliance rate for core Bachelor of Public Health courses are below 50%, indicating a gap in alignment with job requirements. However, special courses demonstrated a compliance rate exceeding 50%, which participants deemed high and very high. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive review and revision of the public health curriculum, particularly in basic and core courses, to better prepare graduates for the evolving demands of healthcare networks.